Most times when we think of a rescue horse we picture the walking skeleton who hasn’t been properly fed and is knocking on death’s door. There are many forms of neglect and abuse in the equine world, and skipping any of the basics of horse care can be detrimental to any equine. For example, skipping basic hoof care, proper de-worming, dental care or any of the other basics can lead to devastating results.

The Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation, Inc. (MHWF) takes in a wide variety of equines, from the extreme rescue cases that everyone pictures, the generally neglected horses who need a second chance in life, the forgotten equines who have been left to fend for themselves, as well as the equines whose owners have had some sort of life change and can no longer keep their beloved horse. MHWF rehabilitates the horses who need rehabilitation, thoroughly evaluates the equines, and when ready, looks for the proper adoptive home. Adopters must fill out an application, be approved and come to the MHWF farm to meet the equine to be sure of a good match. When an equine gets adopted, they are adopted under MHWF’s contract and the adopter must send in a health report form each year confirming the health and well-being of the equine, signed by their veterinarian. MHWF if also GFAS verified facility, and everyone involved is 100% volunteer. http://www.sanctuaryfederation.org/gfas/

This is the story of little Lilly whose neglect falls into the category of missing some basic needs other than feed. Lilly is a chubby little mini horse, but she was left untrimmed with no hoof care whatsoever for a very long time, to the point of her feet curling over and nearly unable to walk.

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MHWF got a call about this little mini mare who had been completely neglected, was out in a pasture all by herself and was receiving no care or attention. The report was that she was not easy to handle, was rather wild, a world class kicker, biter, her feet had not been trimmed in ages and she needed to find a place to go. Having paddock space available, Lilly would be a good winter “project” for the folks at MHWF. Lilly arrived to MHWF on 11/7/2012, with feet about as bad as they get, covered in feces and scared. A couple of volunteers were waiting for Lilly’s arrival as well as the farrier to do an immediate assessment and begin the hoof work.

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After spending a few minutes with Lilly, it became very apparent that once she knew people were here to help her and not hurt her, she warmed up almost immediately. She turned into one of the cutest, sweetest little things you ever met. She would actually cling to whoever was handling her and she almost looked like a little girl clinging onto her hero. Although she had been horribly neglected for a long time, it was pretty clear that at some point in her life she was well cared for and just ended up in the wrong hands. Unfortunately, that happens too often, and that is one of the reasons that some people will prefer to have their equine go to a facility like MHWF rather than sell them on the open market if they cannot keep them.

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When Lilly settled in a very short time on her arrival, it was easy to get going with a few of her basic needs right away. She received a de-wormer, the farrier assessed her feet and gave her the first trim she had in a long time. It was quickly discovered that she was not wild, not hard to handle, not a kicker and would never think of biting. She was a little shy, but Lilly was obviously grateful for the help and kindness that she was receiving. This is a photo of her after her very first trim. It was very fortunate that there was no severe damage from the neglect and the farrier was able to trim away that excess hoof. It was apparent that her feet would be very close to normal within a couple of trims, thank goodness. Lilly immediately loved using her new feet!

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Lilly got cleaned up and groomed, but unfortunately her tail was completely matted with old feces and dirt. It was apparent that Lilly had to lay down a good share of the time and there was more than a year’s worth of manure matted into her tail from that, which had turned to a hard clay-like consistency that would not just wash out.

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A job like that calls for the help of some dedicated volunteers who aren’t afraid to get dirty, and they were just waiting for the opportunity to help this little girl out. The volunteers are the lifeblood of any program like MHWF, and these people can be counted on for anything that comes up. After Lilly settled in for a few days, a group of volunteers came out to help tackle that manure matted tail. It took about 5 people and hours and hours of tedious work with warm buckets of water, rubber gloves and Dawn dishwashing detergent. Lilly was a trooper through the whole process and it was discovered that she actually had a beautiful white tail! It was thrilling to be able to save that tail for her.

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There is not an end to this story yet, as Lilly’s story takes a little twist. Normally after rehabilitation she would be put up for adoption and look for her new home, but Lilly is going in a little different direction than normal. There had been talk for some time about a couple of the volunteers of MWHF being able to do some therapy work in the local community that involved equines, and now Lilly is in training to become a therapy horse. Lilly really seems to have what it takes and many times equines who have been helped themselves do an incredible job of moving on to help others. Lilly’s training is coming along fabulously and we all think she is going to make a great little therapy horse.

Thank you all for your kind comments and support, I truly appreciate it. Lilly continues to do just great and her feet are nearly normal now. Her training for therapy is going very well, she has learned to do stairs very well and walk on all kinds of different surfaces and accept all kinds of people. Lilly and her buddy, Puff, had a few visitors yesterday and came out for some fun and some exercise running up and down the drive. I cannot help but share a photo here from yesterday of Lilly having some fun with a new little friend she met. Lilly is sporting her high top tennis shoes that she needs to wear to go into various places to help with slippery surfaces.

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Tears here too, but they are tears of joy. For all the wonderful volunteers who have helped Lilly and documented her progress, you are indeed amazing and generous people. Congratulations to you all for what you've done for this little pony.